


The Asset's Last day of School

by Introvertatheart



Series: The Asset's New Life [42]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Last day of school, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:13:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24448663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertatheart/pseuds/Introvertatheart
Summary: In the past three months, Bucky has learned a lot in pre-school. Ms. Lisa thinks it's time the end year off right.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: The Asset's New Life [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1343575
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	The Asset's Last day of School

**Author's Note:**

> This may be below some people expectation of a pre-school last day of school celebration. Forgive me, it's been a weird week. The cruise chapters will make up for it.

Bucky had a lot going on this week. Since Monday, the amount of work he had to do at school had increased. It aggravated him because he couldn't understand why. Even Steve wasn't sure what was causing the aggravation. All this week, Ms. Lisa was going over and testing what they've went learned over since they started. In the three months he was in school, he learned how to count to ten, learned the alphabet and write his name. It was a major improvement and everyone was glad Bucky was making strides in relearning. 

If only Bucky felt the same way about today.

"Bucky, you doing better?" Asked Steve. Bucky was in his corner after a bad tantrum. Steve thought it was a meltdown but all that happened was Steve asked if he could brush his hair by himself today and pack his lunch bag by himself. Maybe it was too much at one time but Bucky got upset and threw the brush at Steve, which resulted in ten minutes in the corner. "Bucky, you okay?"

"Okay."

"Why did you get so upset when I asked you to do something by yourself?"

"You do."

"Buck, I can't do everything for you. You have to learn some independence and start doing stuff yourself. If you wanted help, you could have asked instead of getting upset. Understand?" Bucky nodded. "Now, can we get shoes on? We're about to be late." Bucky got up and put his shoes on. He asked Steve to help tie his shoes. "You ready to go, now?" Bucky nodded and stood up, he put his book bag on and they went downstairs and left.

Once they arrived at the institution, Steve followed Bucky into his room. They were both surprised when they saw balloons and a cake in the middle of the table.

"Good morning, Bucky, Mr. Rogers and Harley. How are you doing?" Asked Ms. Lisa.

"We had a rough start to the morning. He might be a little slow reacting today." Bucky put his book bag down then went to his couch.

"Okay. Bucky, we don't have morning work today, so you can relax for a few minutes." Said Ms. Lisa. Bucky said nothing and stared out the window. 

"He'll come around in a few minutes." Said Steve.

"I understand. Dr. Nicole should be here in a few minutes. Until then, I can give you his folder and show you his progress." Ms. Lisa showed him Bucky's drawings, tests from this week and his behavior chart. Nothing seemed to be too concerning on the chart. There was a few incidents where he was upset at being asked to do his work and needed time to relax. But nothing looked too serious. As for the tests, most of them were A's. The only thing he got a B on was spelling out the numbers. Seven was spelled with one e and for some reason he refused to spell out one and nine.

Then there was a knock. It was Dr. Nicole and she was holding a present.

"Good morning, Mr. Rogers. How is everything?"

"Uh, getting there. May I ask what is going on? Is it someone's birthday?" He truly hoped it was no one's birthday.

"No, no birthday. We are celebrating Bucky's last day of school." Ms. Lisa smiled brightly.

"Last day of school celebration? Didn't have those back then. They just told us to have a great summer and see you soon. I guess this is the reason why he's been so frustrated lately. More work usually does that someone."

"Yeah, I wanted to keep it a surprise. So today will be his last day of school so he can enjoy summer. Then sometime in August we will continue school."

"Oh, okay, that works."

"But I do recommend you give him a little work to do during the summer at least once or twice a week to keep his mind from forgetting. I'll assist you with that." Then Bucky came over, leaning on Steve but eyes focused on the ice cream cake. 

"Did you hear anything we said?" Asked Steve poking his cheek.

"Cake?" He pointed.

"This is because it is your last day of school. So for the next two months, no school." Said Steve.

"No school?" Bucky repeated.

"That's right." Steve could see something wasn't connecting in his head, so maybe Monday it would make more sense.

"Would you like a piece of cake, Bucky?" Asked Ms. Lisa.

"Please?"

"Excellent asking. Here you go." Ms. Lisa cut him a piece. Bucky sat down at the table and ate his cake.

"While he enjoys himself over there, we can discuss some changes." Said Ms. Lisa. Steve didn't know why, but he felt a bit concerned at that. "One thing will change is location. I believe Bucky is starting to be uncomfortable with the noise around here."

"Is he really?" As if on cue, there was yelling and stomping from the upper floors. Bucky stopped eating his cake then stared up at the ceiling. Steve saw his eyes moving rapidly, almost as if he was tracking something. Once the yelling died down, Bucky went back to eating his cake.

"The yelling on the upper floors gets him distracted. So I was able to rent a room from another therapy center that is a little closer to you. It will be like this room, but a bit bigger and he will, of course, have a window and we can bring his couch. And I already talked to the building manager, Harley is allowed there and they have been informed about everything from behavior wise to about you being his caregiver."

"Okay, yeah, I think this a good idea. I'm sure that'll help us both a little." Steve wasn't exactly over the incident with Bucky escaping and getting lost.

"Great. How do you feel about adding another person to his schooling?" Ms. Lisa asked. Steve felt his heart rate pick up a little.

"I don't think he's ready for another person to be around him during school. I'm worried he's going to hurt someone."

"That's a reasonable concern, but we need to work on his socialization. I know sharing is a major problem, but we need to start bringing other people into his life that are outside of your avenger family." Dr. Nicole was right, but Bucky was capable of hurting people whether it was intentional or not. Sharing always triggered aggression and Steve didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"Maybe if we try it in small sessions, he'll adjust better." Offered Ms. Lisa.

"We'll need time to work on that, but first we'll work on that aggression, Winter." Bucky growled for a second then ate the rest of his cake. Steve smiled then remembered. "This is more of a behavioral concern than schooling but we're going on a cruise on Sunday. Is there anything I can do to help him with the transition?"

"Watching videos usually helps children understand what is going on. Bucky shouldn't have too much trouble. Where are you guys going?" Asked Dr. Nicole.

"The Bahamas for a week."

"Fun. Well I know his sensory problems will probably be thrown off for a day or two. Motion sickness and all that type of stuff, I can't predict, I'm sorry. But I can tell you as a parent to bring everything that brings him comfort. Toys, blankets and his tablet are his favorite things, bring those and maybe he'll be okay. I would also have a word with any staff that might come in contact with him. But you know Bucky better than us, so do what is best for him." Steve nodded but there was still so much concern regarding what he could do to prevent Bucky from breaking down in the middle of the ocean.

"I'm worried about his meltdowns. Tantrums, I can probably get a handle on. But he won't have his sensory room."

"Mr. Rogers, you can only do what you can when that happens. Bucky will be with you the entire time, I suppose. A new environment will probably end up causing Bucky a meltdown or two and that is just a way he deals with a new place. All you can do is take it one step at a time and at his pace. If he doesn't want to do something, then don't force him. If he's unsure, slowly introduce it to him." Informed Dr. Nicole. That only took away five percent of Steve's worry. The only thing Steve could do is do things at Bucky's pace and not rush him.

"More, please?" Asked Bucky pushing his plate towards the cake.

"You'll get more when we get home." Said Steve. Bucky frowned slightly then saw the box.

"That?" He pointed.

"You can open it." Said Dr. Nicole. Bucky looked at the box then pushed it to Steve.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Help open, please?"

"Good asking." Steve open the box and gave him a sand bucket full of items. "There is chalk, a few pieces of candy and clay. Oh and Harley gets a duck toy. This will be fun and probably a little messy. What do you say to them?" 

"Thank you."

"You're so welcome Bucky, I'll miss you. Next time I see you we'll start Kindergarten. Have a great summer and a fun cruise. Can I have a hug?" Asked Ms. Lisa. Bucky got up and hugged her. Steve smiled and got Bucky's book bag.

"Well, I guess you get to leave school early. We still have a lot to do anyway." Said Steve.

"Right. And you can always call me during your cruise if you have any questions. Then after you come back, we can always resume home therapy." Said Dr. Nicole.

"Okay, I'll let you know. Say bye to them." Said Steve. Bucky said bye to everyone then they went to the car. "Are you going to miss Ms. Lisa?" Bucky didn't saying instead his focus was on the lollipops in the bucket.

"Please?" He held out the lollipop to Steve. Steve took it and unwrapped it. Bucky took it back and sat quietly.

"So today, we are going to the pet store to get Harley more food and other things. Then we are going to find you some swim trunks and swim diapers. I think I need swim trunks too. Sound good?"

"Yeah." Steve smiled at him then turned on the car. 

Once they arrived at pet store, Bucky was a little more nervous than normal because of the amount of people here. They usually came early in the morning to avoid crowds but coming around twelve seemed to be a rush hour. 

Plus it was adoption week.

Everyone had their pets and so many dogs were barking. And for some reason, children were finding the reason to join the noise. Steve just need Bucky to not join them.

"We're just getting food and a few other things. Stay calm." Steve held his hand and walked towards the dog food isle. On the way there, a large Labrador ran from its owners and barked at Harley and jumping at Bucky. Harley pushed her body between the dog and Harley because Bucky didn't like dogs jumping at him.

"Sir, can you get your dog?" Said Steve.

"Jasper, here boy." Said the owner. Jasper wasn't listening, he continued to jump at Bucky which was only making Harley bark at the dog. Steve grabbed the dog by the collar and pushed him away. But the dog came back and tried to jump up at Bucky again.

"Dude, get your dog." The owner finally grabbed the dog. "My bad, he's a hyper boy." Steve immediately wanted to say something that wasn't very Captain America like but Bucky needed attention first. They walked away and went to the food isle. Bucky sat down and Harley laid on his legs. Steve immediately became concerned when Bucky whined when Harley put her weight on his legs, usually it was never a problem.

"Everything alright? Did that dog scratch you?"

"No." Just a precaution, Steve put a little pressure on his legs. Nothing was scratched or even bruised. "Are you just scared?" Bucky nodded. "It's okay. Harley and I wouldn't have let that dog hurt you." Bucky was close to crying and Steve was hoping he could prevent a fear developing.

"How about we finish getting what need to get then we can go look at the fishes?"

"Fishies?" Bucky loved the fishes. They were very relaxing to the both of them. Steve got Harley's food. They got more treats and toys. Then Steve had a thought. Would Harley have motion sickness on the boat? He remembered reading in her file that she was flight trained, but nothing about boats. Harley loved water but would she get sick too?

"Hello, do you need help with anything?" Asked a young female worker.

"Yeah, actually, I'm going on a cruise in two days and I have no idea if she will have motion sickness."

"Well, does she like car rides?"

"Loves them."

"I would assume they would feel the same way about a boat. Just takes about a day or so for adjustment, but if you were really afraid she might have a negative reaction I would talk to your vet."

"Okay, thank you." As she walked away, Steve made the decision to call Ms. Olivia, who gave them and trained Harley. She answered that Harley would be okay, just watch out for any frequent vomiting or diarrhea. But she should be okay as long as Bucky is okay. Also she asked that he carry all of Harley's documents on board so that they know what Harley is used for. And with that Steve felt a little better that he didn't need to medicate Harley.

"Fishies, please?" Bucky asked.

"We can go see the fish now." They arrived at the aquarium area, Bucky stood in his favorite spot, in front of the koi fish. Steve liked the fish too, but some fish die too quickly without proper care and time was not something they had for a while. 

"Mine, please?" Asked Bucky, pointing to one koi fish that was all silver with an orange dot on its forehead.

"You ask for a fish every time we come and my answer will always be no." They could probably get a fish even Dr. Nicole said getting a fish could help Bucky learn responsibility but Steve just had a fear that something would go wrong and they come home one day finding the fish belly up. It would break Bucky's heart and it shatter Steve's heart to see Bucky so upset. Plus no one knew how Bucky or Winter dealt with grief. Bucky was already a mess when he couldn't find one of his stuffed animals, how would he react seeing his pet die? Steve didn't even want to think about it. "Come on, pal. We need to go." Bucky waved bye to the fish then went with Steve to pay for Harley's items then they left.

Their next stop was their local store. Steve grabbed a few snacks for Bucky then grabbed two packs of regular diapers and swim diapers. They avoided the child section and checked out. 

Once they arrived to the tower and got everything unpacked. Bucky sat at the dining table playing with his clay and Steve made sure he had everything for everyone.

" _Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark is requesting you for a meeting in the main area_." Said Jarvis.

"Bucky too?"

" _He is allowed to come_." Said Jarvis. 

Steve sighed then looked at Bucky, "Hey, uncle Tony wants to talk to us."

"No."

"You can bring your clay."

"No." Bucky either wasn't too keen on moving anymore or thought it was one of those boring mission meetings. Either way, they needed to go. Steve picked him up by the waist and carried him to the elevator, Bucky growled at him but continued to play with his clay. Harley followed them into the elevator and they went down.

"Something going on?" Asked Steve.

"Just need to have a pre-cruise meeting with you." Said Tony. Steve sat on the couch and put Bucky on his lap. "Alright, first off, I talked to cruise captain about him and he told me the basic rules for children like children must be with an adult at all times and children must wear a life jacket in the pool and-" Said Tony.

"Wait." Steve interrupted "What exactly did you say to him about Bucky?" Asked Steve.

"That there will be a three year old on the cruise and he has a disability."

"That's all? Do they know anything else about his condition?"

"As far as his seizures and having amnesia, kind of. As far as meltdowns, tantrums, being a man-child and Winter, no. I'll let you have that honor." Said Tony giving him the captain's number.

Steve sighed. "I'm pretty sure they'll be enjoyed to see Winter."

"Well, you can control him so you tell them."

"Fine, I guess that's fair. What about Harley?

"She's all good, the cruise will have a little kiddie pool full of sod for her in the lower levels."

"Great. Anything else?"

"Nope, just make sure you bring everything for him."

"I know."

"Seriously, everything. Medication, sensory toys and all that other stuff that keeps him calm."

"Stark, I know. I've already made sure I had everything in order."

"Good. Kid, are you excited?" Asked Tony. Bucky looked at him then shook his head. 

"Do you even know what's going on?" Asked Steve. The answer to that was another shake of the head. "We are going on a boat next week and we will be going to the Bahamas." Bucky looked at Steve. A boat? Has he been on a boat before?

"You'll have so much fun and you'll probably scare people."

"Tony." Steve warned.

"We'll it's not like they see a man-child who is also a world-feared assassin with a metal arm every day. You can't expect nobody to be a little fearful of him." Good point.

"I know, hopefully they'll understand he won't bother them if they don't bother him." They talked for a while. Bucky got up from Steve's lap to the kitchen. He pulled on every cabinet handle to get something to open then pulled the refrigerator. It opened and there was a tall bottle that Bucky has never seen before. He didn't really know what half of the stuff said, but he did read one word. Apple.

Was this related to apple sauce? He had to know. He poked the bottle until it fell from the shelf and shattered on the floor.

"BUCKY!" Yelled Steve. He arrived to the kitchen with Tony just a second behind him. Glass was all over the floor. Bucky didn't have anything to protect his feet at all but that didn't seem to faze him at all from trying to move. "Stand still. I don't want you to hurt your feet." Steve had shoes on and went to Bucky. He picked him up quickly and sat him on the table to look at his feet. Nothing seemed stuck in his feet. But he did have a few tiny cuts that were starting to bleed. "Why did you touch that?"

"Apple."

"That was apple rum. As in alcohol. What are you celebrating?" Asked Tony.

"Well, it was his last day of school." Said Steve wetting a towel and wiping his feet.

"Seriously? Why didn't you say something earlier, we could have had a party?" Asked Tony.

"We're going on a cruise, I'm sure we'll find something to celebrate with. Now we are going upstairs to get some band-aids." Steve picked him up, saying a quick sorry to Tony for the mess then going in the elevator. Once they got to their floor, Steve might have started walking a little faster to the bathroom. He was trying not to panic for Bucky's sake, but glass wasn't something he couldn't panic about. Steve sat him on the toilet lid and got the first-aid kit. He got an alcoholic wipe pad.

"This may hurt a little, but it's just to clean this." But first, he had to make sure there wasn't any glass stuck in his feet. Then he rubbed the alcohol wipe on the cut, Bucky hit his arm then growled at him. "Don't hit. I know it hurts, maybe that will teach you not to touch glass." Steve continued to clean the cuts then got his Paw Patrol band-aids. In all there was five band-aids. Two on the left foot and three on the right. Even though the cuts would be healed and forgotten by the morning, Bucky needed to know not to play with glass. And Steve was painfully reminded that Bucky couldn't be trusted by himself. 

Maybe one day he could, but it wouldn't be today. And probably not for a while. 

As nightfall came, Steve made mashed potatoes with gravy and shredded chicken. Bucky's chewing was a slow work in progress. The only problem was Bucky sometimes couldn't figure out what to chew and what not to chew. Steve saw at one point he was trying to chew ice cream and applesauce but sometimes he wouldn't chew chicken or some fruits. Steve asked for advice and was told that Bucky needed to think on what to chew and what not to chew. Mimicking helps a lot, but other than mimicking, Bucky had to sort through it himself.

After Steve got Bucky in a bath and comfortable in bed, he checked over a few things to make sure he had enough of everything for the cruise. Bucky had enough of every medication to last him for the trip. He had enough diapers and he had swim shorts. Steve knew Bucky would probably bring all his stuffed animals and that was fine, but what if he lost one on the trip? Then everyone on the ship would be doing a search and rescue. And God forbid one of them flew over board. Maybe he should write name tags for all of them and tie them together. 

"Daddy?" Steve got up from the couch and went in the bedroom. Bucky wasn't on the bed, he was digging through the closet for something.

"What are you doing, Buck?"

"Blankie, please?" Steve was confused for a second. Bucky had his regular blanket on the bed.

"Your blanket is on the bed." Bucky shook his head and tried hitting his head. Only then Steve noticed his hands were trembling. "Oh, you need pressure." Steve got his weighted blanket and laid Bucky back on the bed and laid his blanket over him. "Better?" Bucky nodded and snuggled back into bed.

"Definitely bringing that." Steve got in the bed and rubbed Bucky's back. The cruise was only two days away and Steve felt like he had nothing prepared. There was still clothes to be sorted through, washed and packed. Then he had to make sure he had enough toothpaste, deodorant and they probably needed more body soap. He also wasn't sure if the cruise had a washer and dryer. No doubt Bucky might be throwing up once or twice during the trip.

"I hope I'm not underprepared or overprepared." Steve sighed. At this point, he believed bringing everything on their floor would be enough to settle his nerves. But he couldn't. 

Or maybe he could.

**Author's Note:**

> Steve's starting to panic about the trip and I am too. But everyone will be okay, sort of. :)


End file.
